Posts Tagged With: candy

With some things, we seem to think it is all in his head. Like watermelon. The man will claim up, down, left, right, and until he is blue in the face that he hates it. However, I know better.

One time, I made some juice, poured myself a glass, then sat down. Dad, seeing that juice had been made, got up and poured himself a glass. When he came back into the room, the glass had been downed, except for one little sip in the bottom.

“You drank the juice?!?” I asked

He nods, and looks at me if I were crazy for asking a question like that.

” That was watermelon juice”

He then set the glass down, and leaves the last sip, which stayed there until the dishes were done later that night.

Another time, this time in a restaurant, I ask dad if he would like some gum. He says sure pops it in his mouth and gives it a few chews, while I am there snickering beside me. He looks at me laughing, then clues into my joke.

” This is watermelon gum isn’t it”

When I burst out laughing, he then starts to freak out about the gum that I had given him.

I am such a nice daughter.

So, you’ll understand my hesitation when he claims he doesn’t like things. Like sushi.

For this month’s Improv challenge hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, I combined the two ingredients, Fish and (white chocolate) Chips to make candy sushi. Something I have been dying to make ever since I saw it floating around pinterest.

I recruited my sister as a helper and as chief taste test distributor, and once we had some samples, she passed them around.

After offering one to my dad, she runs back into the kitchen, hollering “I GOT DAD TO EAT SUSHI!!”

He never asked for a second.

Candy Sushi

makes about 24 pcs

1/2 pkg marshmallows, regular or mini

1 cup white chocolate chips

2 tbsp butter

2 cups crispy rice cereal

24 fish shaped candies ( I used Swedish fish and Blue Sharks)

12 sour fruit strips, split in half.

Additional white chocolate or ready-made icing

In a large saucepan, melt together the marshmallows, white chocolate chips and butter, stirring until smooth.

Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the cereal. While it’s still warm, form them into little oblong patties, using a couple tbsps for each.

Top each patty with a fish candy, then wrap the fruit strips around the fish, sealing with a bit of white chocolate or icing on the underside.

Let set for about 15 minutes then enjoy!

Don’t forget to check out what other’s have come up with using Fish and Chips!

Everything has been such a whirlwind this week and it just seems like I’ve blinked and I am already facing the start of the last weekend before Christmas! Geesh.

Fortunately I do have all my shopping done ( and I’m pretty sure that if I don’t it’s not going to get done, because I am not facing those crowds!), however this week I have been helping some of my other family members get their shopping done. I don’t mind lending a helping hand, however, now that I am done my shopping, I keep seeing amazing things in the store for the people on my list or (worse) myself.

I think it’s a secret ploy by stores. Let’s put out all of the “ok” stuff or ” they’d appreciate that” stuff for all the early bird shoppers. Then in the last couple of weeks before the holidays, let’s put out all of the “OMG” or ” THIS IS TOTALLY PERFECT” stuff. That way when the shoppers are out with family members, or just doing their normal “I-just-ran-out-of-toilet-paper” shopping, they see all of this amazing stuff and are absolutely forced to buy it.

Like honestly, my shopping budget is not blown by my normal gift shopping. It’s blown by all these little amazing things that I find in the last days before Christmas. Oh well. The only one that suffers really is my bank account.

Anyways, my shopping is beyond done, but I’m still trying to get some of my holiday baking done. These I whipped up a bit earlier in the week when I had a spare bit of time. They come together quickly and are super delicious. I’ve adapted them from my Grandma’s recipe (her original recipe had dates in them. Barf), and they are one of both my brothers and my dad’s favourites. If you are a big peanut butter fan, then you may want to double the recipe, because they will go quickly!

Peanut Butter Balls

makes about 20 balls

1 cup smooth peanut butter

2 cups icing sugar, divided

3-6 tbsp of milk (or water)

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

In a bowl, combine the peanut butter and 3/4 cup of the icing sugar. You should end up with a soft ‘dough’.

With damp hands, roll the dough into 1 inch/ 2.5 cm ball, setting them on a tray lined with wax paper. If you are finding that the dough is too soft or is sticking to your fingers, set them in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Once it is all rolled out, chill them for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make a thin icing with the remaining icing sugar and 3 Tbsp of milk. If your icing is still thick, add the remaining milk, one tablespoon at a time.

Lightly coat each of the chilled balls in the thin icing, then immediately roll in the shredded coconut. Set back on the wax paper lined tray and chill to set. Once they have set, you can move them too a container. Store in the fridge.

Just a quick “recipe” for you today, which really was a result of a failure. I had intended on sharing some cute ( in my head ) cake pops, but let’s just say they didn’t turn out ( a.k.a fell apart as I was dipping them). Not one to waste perfectly good melted chocolate, I threw in some cranberries and almonds, topped it off with sprinkles and made a bark.

Line a 9×9 pan with wax paper. Over a pot with gently simmering water, melt the white chocolate in a heat proof glass or metal bowl, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

When the chocolate is melted, stir in the cranberries, then pour down the middle of the prepared pan.

In another bowl, melt the red chocolate over the gently simmering water. When it has melted, stir in the chopped almonds.

Pour half of the chocolate along one side of the pan beside the white chocolate. Pour the other half along the other. Swirl the white chocolate into the red with a knife if desired. Top with sprinkles if desired ( I used some cute Maple leaf quins)

Gently drop the pan on the counter a couple times to smooth out the chocolate then pop in the fridge or freezer to set. Once it has set, whack it on the counter or tap it with a rolling pin to break it up.

I have been on the job hunt, and last week I went to an interview for a water treatment company that specializes in water conditioning units ( basically units that take all the junk out of your tap water). Part of the interview process was to learn about water, and how it gets treated and what kinds of things are in water, like your calcium, lime, iron, etc, or as they called it ” The Rock”. It went on to explain how ” The Rock”, was what caused spots on your dishes, the ring in your bathtub, and is essentially the root of all water evil.

Hokey, if you ask me, but it has stuck. Coincidentally, a well known wrestler/ actor goes by that name, and well that was it for me. Let’s just say spring cleaning has taken on a whole new level.

And if you are looking for some dessert, this Rocks ( ahahaha….. OK…. that was bad )

Mr Ginge had me make this cheesecake when we had friends over for dinner a little while back, after he heard his uncle talking about making it. He obviously couldn’t stop thinking about it. And clearly this was a good idea, because oh my gosh, it was to die for. We sent some home with our neighbors, and they later told us they kept sneaking to the fridge to sneak a quick bite.

Because it was the first time I made it, I stuck to the recipe, which you can find here, but there were a few things that I did make note of.

First, instead of trying to find and buy dulce de leche, I just made my own by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk for a couple hours. You can find more in depth instructions here.

I had made a runnier topping, which then proceeded to run down once the cake was cut. And then continued to run down when it was put back in the fridge. A lipped plate or cake stand is highly recommended.

And lastly, the recipe only calls for one Caramilk bar to stick around the edges. All I have to say is that it must have been a giant-sized chocolate bar, since it took me six and a half regular bars to make it around the 10 inch cake. On the bight side though it does make for excellent cutting guides.

They are my favorite treats to bake, and tend to get a bit crazy with them. I think for Christmas I made 15 different kinds, and quite literally lost an entire batch.

They a perfectly sized for one ( well, most of the time) and pair so perfectly with a cup of hot chocolate.😀

What’s better on a winter’s day?

Chocolate Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes about 18 cookies

1/2 c butter, softened

1/2 c creamy peanut butter

3/4 c brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 c flour

1/2 baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 c Reese’s pieces candies, crushed

about 1/2 cup chocolate spread ( I used this brand, however Nutella would work just as well)

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line your baking sheets with some parchment.

In a large bowl, cream your butter, sugar and peanut butter together.

Add in your egg and the vanilla and mix a bit more until smooth and combined.

Meanwhile, in another bowl mix your flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add it to the creamed mixture, mixing until combined.

Crush up the Reese’s Pieces either in a food processor, or in a zip bag with a rolling pin. Stir then into the cookie dough until evenly combined.

Now you could stop here, bake them up and you would have a delicious and very dip-able cookie. Or you know, you could stuff them with chocolate.

6. Take about 1 tbsp of dough and press it flat on the parchment lined pan. Top with 1/2 – 1 tsp of chocolate spread right smack in the middle. With about another Tbsp of dough top the spread and seal the edges, then press the dough lightly with a fork ( you don’t want to squish out the chocolate)

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then remove and let cool for a couple minutes on the pan. Make yourself a hot chocolate or pour yourself a tall glass of milk and dunk away.